by Matt Rej
Roommaster (formerly InnQuest) is a property management system built for independent hotels, boutique properties, and small hotel groups.
The PMS itself has a solid reputation. Hoteliers have been using it for years, the front desk functionality works as advertised, and it has a variety of third-party integrations available on its marketplace to extend capabilities with other tools you’re using.
But the payment processing side of roommaster deserves a closer look. This holds true whether you’re thinking of using it for the first time or you’re already up and running.
The payment structure is more expensive than most owners realize, and the setup isn’t in your favor.
How roommaster Payment Processing Works
Payment processing on roommaster runs through its in-house solution, called roommaster Payments. It’s powered by ValPay, which is an embedded payments company that operates a PayFac-as-a-Service model.
With this setup, ValPay handles the regulatory and compliance infrastructure that allows roommaster to offer processing directly through the PMS, without roommaster needing to hold a payment facilitator license itself.
Behind ValPay sits the actual payment processor: Adyen, which is one of the largest global payment platforms in existence. They handle the actual transaction infrastructure that routes payments through card networks, manages acquiring bank relationships, and settling funds.
Adyen provides excellent technology and they’re honestly a great processor overall. The problem is that this is largely relevant to you as a merchant because you don’t have a direct relationship with Adyen.
So while Adyen may technically be processing your payments behind the scenes, everything you do still flows through the roommaster. You have no control over anything happening with ValPay or Adyen.
Why This Setup is More Expensive by Design
There are so many players involved every time you accept a card transaction via roommaster payments, and everyone needs their cut.
- Adyen sets its rates above interchange so they can pay the networks and issuing banks while still earning a profit.
- ValPay charges for their role as the PayFac-as-a-Service, adding more margin to the rates that have already been marked up by Adyen.
- roommaster needs to charge you enough to cover both of those underlying costs, plus leave enough margin to profit on your processing volume.
When you have three levels between you and the underlying interchange, with each entity adding to the margin along the way, you’re left with really expensive payment processing.
That’s the issue with using a PMS that embeds processing into the software to monetize your volume. While it’s extremely convenient, it comes at a cost.
In a traditional acquiring relationship, you’d negotiate rates directly with a processor or acquiring bank. The processor’s margin is a defined line item, and it sits directly above the interchange costs without extra layers involved.
But that’s not the case here. When you get a blended rate from roommaster, all of the underlying costs are invisible to you. Interchange, assessments, Adyen’s margin, and ValPay’s fees are all invisible to you. You’re left with one big number to cover everything, including roommaster’s margin on top of the software costs you’re already paying.
If You Were Already Using InnQuest Before the roommaster Payments and ValPay Transaction
Things weren’t always this way. And if you’ve been using this PMS over the last decade, you were likely hit the hardest by these changes.
Back when the software was still called InnQuest, it integrated directly with Shift4.
The old setup allowed you to have a direct relationship with Shift4, and then just integrate the payments into your PMS to automate reconciliation, match payments to bookings, and other time-saving features.
But that changed about three years ago when InnQuest launched roommaster Payments and stopped supporting the Shift4 integration. Anyone who wanted to continue getting the integrated features within the PMS were forced to leave Shift4 and migrate to the new setup in roommaster Payments.
The result is that you’re likely paying thousands of dollars more per month to accept card payments. I’ve seen accounts that are paying $25,000 to $50,000+ more annually, just a couple of years after being forced to switch.
If you haven’t revisited your payment costs since, I urge you to do so now. While you don’t have as much leverage as you normally would in a direct agreement, roommaster should still have some wiggle room on what they’re charging you. So don’t be afraid to negotiate.
If You’ve Been on roommaster Payments for a Few Years
For those of you who recently signed up for roommaster and the payment processing just came along with it, you might not have a clear reference point for what competitive processing rates actually look like.
That’s common. And the embedded model is designed to make that question feel settled before it’s even been asked.
Here’s how to handle it. Calculate your effective rate (total fees divided by total volume in a given month).
For a hotel doing meaningful volume, a well-structured interchange-plus agreement with a competitive processor might land around 20 basis points over the true interchange cost. That’s competitive, and it would put your effective rate somewhere in the ballpark of 2.6% to 2.8%.
With roommaster, it’s likely closer to 4% effective.
And while you can’t negotiate rock-bottom rates with roommaster due to the underlying setup (they have too many people to pay), there’s still room for them to make concessions and cut costs. Even if you can get your rates cut by 50 bps, that likely translates to tens of thousands in savings for you.
You just need to understand what you’re currently paying before you can have a productive conversation with them about a fee adjustment.
If You’re Evaluating roommaster for the First Time
If you’re currently comparing hotel PMS options and roommaster is on your list, you need to factor in the payment processing costs into your total platform comparison before you make a decision.
The PMS and payments aren’t two separate things. You’re buying both at once, even if the sales rep treats them differently.
It’s likely that the platform itself may serve your operational needs. But the processing is going to be a major expense for your property, and that cost may not be worth it.
Get a rate quote in writing from roommaster payments, and then compare against alternatives. See what an interchange-plus processor would charge you for the same volume.
Embedded payment processing in a PMS is always going to be more expensive than a direct acquiring relationship. So you just need to figure out if you’re willing to pay that premium.
I personally think there’s a middle ground you can look for: a PMS that supports an integration with your direct processor. GuestSuites, Cloudbeds, and Mews are just a few examples of hotel PMS that support this. You’ll pay a little bit more than you would without the integration, but at least you have full control over your merchant account.
That’s the way things used to be with roommaster back when they were InnQuest and integrated directly with Shift4.
POS Integrations That Could Save You Money Elsewhere
There is one partial way to offset your costs if you’re using roommaster’s embedded processing solution. Outside of the payments feature, the PMS itself integrates with several restaurant POS systems, including Lightspeed, SkyTab, and Heartland Digital Dining (among others).
So if your property has a restaurant, bar, banquet hall, or catering operations, you’re not necessarily locked into roommaster payments for all of your volume.
For example, Lightspeed allows third-party processor connections. It charges a fee for that privilege, but the option exists. And it means that payment processing for your food and beverage operation doesn’t have to follow the same structure as your room revenue.
SkyTab is Shift4’s restaurant POS product, and Heartland Digital Dining runs on Global Payments. Both of these offer you direct processing relationships that have nothing to do with ValPay.
While running multiple payment systems across your property can definitely add operational complexity it’s still something to consider. Charges from a connected POS can still be posted to guest folios in roommaster, but the reconciliation across two payment statements requires more administrative attention than a single unified system.
It’s far from a clean solution. But if your food and beverage volume is meaningful, the math could justify the added overhead. And it’s worth knowing the option exists rather than assuming all of your volume has to run through one channel.
Final Thoughts
roommaster is a functional PMS with a long track record in the independent hospitality space. But the payment processing that comes with it is a different conversation altogether.
The embedded structure means you’re paying a premium for the integration, you can’t shop rates, and there are multiple entities sitting between you and the underlying costs. As a result, it’s expensive. And among the most expensive rates you could possibly pay to accept payments within your hotel PMS.
Whether you’re a longtime user who went through the ValPay transition or a new customer who accepted the default setup, these costs deserve a second look.
Here at MCC, we work with hotel operators to audit processing costs, benchmark rates against what’s available elsewhere, and identify where the margin in an embedded arrangement is actually going. Just reach out for a free audit, and we’ll let you know where you can save money. And you don’t have to switch providers or software to benefit from savings.